80 HOURS A WEEK

Poverty Bay Herald, Volume LXIII, Issue 19127, 23 September 1936, Page 14

80 HOURS A WEEK

CONDITIONS IN BRITAIN "ALMOST INCREDIBLELONDON, July 27. Many cases ,of people working 53 and 574 hours a week are mentioned in the 10:53 annual report, issued yesterday, of Mr. 13. K. Wilson, chief inspector of factories and -workshops. One of the worst examples of long hours—" almost incredible in these days"—is in a silk works where, says the report, men on the day shift work for $U hours a week, and on the night shift for 72 hours. Miss Emily J. Slocock, one of the superintending inspectors, states that the'improvement in trade has resulted in the tendency to increase the hours of v.-.ork of women and young persons in a wide variety of industries. Sometimes the adverse effect of long hours is realised and employers havx found that production .has increase.! with a reversion E to shorter hours. , : . One firm worked to full legal limits and employed men en day and night shifts, including Sundays. The whole staff became s,o fatigued that loss of production was evident. The directors made arrangements whereby for three weeks only normal working hours should be worked. The revival of spirit and gain in efficiency on the part of the workers was far beyond expectations. In the second case the output was found to be greater when work ceased at 7 p.m. than when it continued until 8 p.m.

Dr. John C. Bridge, the Senior Medical Inspector, states:— "Industry has undoubtedly been more active, but the general health of workers, so far as can be at present judged, has not been adversely affected.

"The employment of young persons up to the limit of h,ours allowed by law—that limit having been fixed 35 years ago—cannot be regarded as desirable in the light of present knowledge. ''

There was no reduction in the num